Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)

On behalf of all the wonderfuly trained and far more qualified diplomats of the Department of foreign affairs, I accept the plaudits of Deputies Ó Laoghaire and Ó Fearghaíl and join absolutely in the condemnation of the shots fired at our diplomats last week in Jenin. It is also worth noting that another Irish diplomat was present in Washington, DC, when two other diplomats were killed in cold blood.

As regards the global cuts, it is right to focus on the sheer existential crisis being caused by the cuts to USAID. It cannot be completely replaced. The US was responsible for over 20% of the international development in the world, but what is less focused on is that the EU and its member states are responsible for over 40%. This comes into controlling the controllables. We have a say in the European budget. We have the opportunity every couple of weeks to sit with other European foreign ministers and make the case for them to maintain their development budgets. The difference with the cuts to USAID is that they were done, as Deputy Ó Fearghaíl said, in an executive order and then it was left to aid agencies and partners to try to work out what that meant. Our British friends have identified, regrettably, that they are cutting their development aid but they are doing so in a systematic manner that allows people to plan accordingly. That will have a massive impact, to be frank, on combating HIV-AIDS. Domestically, we have seen a bit of a retrograde step as regards HIV-AIDS in this country, which should not be forgotten about, and that has been highlighted in a number of reports. Certainly, in the developing world this is of massive concern. I underscore that we will be absolutely committed to all our programmes and we will work with the organisations to ensure they have not only the agility but also the peace of mind that the funding will be maintained and that we will look to see what more can be done with fewer resources.

I am glad to hear that the Deputy, probably coming from the same vantage point, shares my interest in maternal healthcare. It is really important for partners and dads to be a voice such that when people offer the hot take or give the shock-jock response asking why we are spending money on X, Y and Z, we bring it home and say, "Well, this is what it means. It means pre-eclampsia, which perhaps your mother, wife, sister, girlfriend or partner has experienced." That is what we are targeting and that is why we will make it a central focus.